What will a rheumatologist do for fibromyalgia

They may be different in different people. Current research suggests involvement of the nervous system, particularly the central nervous system brain and spinal cord. Fibromyalgia is not from an autoimmune, inflammation, joint, or muscle disorder. Fibromyalgia may run in families. There likely are certain genes that can make people more prone to getting fibromyalgia and the other health problems that can occur with it. Genes alone, though, do not cause fibromyalgia.

There is most often some triggering factor that sets off fibromyalgia. It may be spine problems, arthritis, injury, or other type of physical stress. Emotional stress also may trigger this illness. Levels of brain chemicals and proteins may change. More recently, Fibromyalgia has been described as Central Pain Amplification disorder, meaning the volume of pain sensation in the brain is turned up too high.

Although Fibromyalgia can affect quality of life, it is still considered medically benign. It does not cause any heart attacks, stroke, cancer, physical deformities, or loss of life. A doctor will suspect fibromyalgia based on your symptoms. Doctors may require that you have tenderness to pressure or tender points at a specific number of certain spots before saying you have fibromyalgia, but they are not required to make the diagnosis see the Box. A physical exam can be helpful to detect tenderness and to exclude other causes of muscle pain.

There are no diagnostic tests such as X-rays or blood tests for this problem. Yet, you may need tests to rule out another health problem that can be confused with fibromyalgia. Because widespread body pain is the main feature of fibromyalgia, health care providers will ask you to describe your pain.

This may help tell the difference between fibromyalgia and other diseases with similar symptoms. Other conditions such as hypothyroidism underactive thyroid gland and polymyalgia rheumatica sometimes mimic fibromyalgia. Blood tests can tell if you have either of these problems. Sometimes, fibromyalgia is confused with rheumatoid arthritis or lupus. But, again, there is a difference in the symptoms, physical findings and blood tests that will help your health care provider detect these health problems.

Unlike fibromyalgia, these rheumatic diseases cause inflammation in the joints and tissues. Pain and symptoms over the past week, based on the total of number of painful areas out of 19 parts of the body plus level of severity of these symptoms: a.

Fatigue b. Waking unrefreshed c. Cognitive memory or thought problems. There is no cure for fibromyalgia. However, symptoms can be treated with both non-drug and medication based treatments. Many times the best outcomes are achieved by using multiple types of treatments. Non-Drug Therapies: People with fibromyalgia should use non-drug treatments as well as any medicines their doctors suggest.

Research shows that the most effective treatment for fibromyalgia is physical exercise. Physical exercise should be used in addition to any drug treatment. Patients benefit most from regular aerobic exercises. Other body-based therapies, including Tai Chi and yoga, can ease fibromyalgia symptoms. Although you may be in pain, low impact physical exercise will not be harmful. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of therapy focused on understanding how thoughts and behaviors affect pain and other symptoms.

CBT and related treatments, such as mindfulness, can help patients learn symptom reduction skills that lessen pain. Mindfulness is a non-spiritual meditation practice that cultivates present moment awareness. Mindfulness based stress reduction has been shown to significantly improve symptoms of fibromyalgia. Get a more specific list of fibromyalgia symptoms and check out these tips for living better with fibromyalgia from fellow patients. Stay up to date here on all of our fibromyalgia news and resources.

Tags: Fibromyalgia. CreakyJoints is a digital community for millions of arthritis patients and caregivers worldwide who seek education, support, advocacy, and patient-centered research. We present patients through our popular social media channels, our website CreakyJoints. We represent patients through our popular social media channels, our website CreakyJoints.

Only fill in if you are not human. About Arthritis , Fibromyalgia , Fibromyalgia Overview. What Is Fibromyalgia? You might not be visiting the correct doctor While your first course of action will probably be to talk to your primary care doctor, you may want to ask for a referral to a rheumatologist.

Your doctor might not be screening you properly One of the reasons that fibromyalgia can be difficult to diagnose is that doctors spend time and resources searching for diseases that could be causing all of the various symptoms of fibromyalgia, says Dr. Fibro can occur with other diseases People can have fibro at the same time as other diseases, such as inflammatory arthritis or osteoarthritis. Criteria from the American College of Rheumatology ACR first published in required: Presence of pain on both sides of the body Presence of pain above and below the waist Presence of at least 11 out of a possible 18 tender points Pain present for at least three months Pain not due to another disorder However, more recent criteria have downplayed the role of the tender points in clinching a fibromyalgia diagnosis.

Generalized pain, defined as pain in at least four of five regions left upper, right upper, left lower, right lower, low back is present. The tender points, which occur on both sides of the body, include: Lower neck in front Edge of upper breast Arm near the elbow Knee Base of the skull in the back of the head Hip bone Upper outer buttock Back of the neck Back of the shoulders Now the tender point counting method is not recognized as a standardized measure for diagnosing fibromyalgia and determining whether the condition is getting better or worse.

Tests for Diagnosing Fibromyalgia There is no specific blood test to diagnose fibromyalgia. Imaging Tests for Diagnosing Fibromyalgia While arthritis that has caused joint damage can be seen on an X-ray, fibromyalgia does not show up on X-rays. Was This Helpful? Share Facebook Twitter Email. Rheumatoid Arthritis Diet Patient Stories. Subscribe to CreakyJoints for more related content.

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Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism. Goldman L, et al. Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and myofascial pain. In: Goldman-Cecil Medicine. Elsevier; Accessed Aug. Ferri FF. In: Ferri's Clinical Advisor Fibromyalgia adult. Mayo Clinic; Goldenberg DL.

Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of fibromyalgia in adults. Mohabbat AB expert opinion. Mayo Clinic. Harte SE, et al. The neurobiology of central sensitization.

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